"The average concentration of chlorophyll-a (chl-a) in phytoplankton for 2014.
Concentrations of chl-a in phytoplankton are used to assess primary productivity in our oceans. Phytoplankton are primary producers of biomass and form the basis of the oceans’ food chains."

New Zealand’s four million km2 marine environment is diverse, with a range of coastal habitats and offshore seabed environments. There are also many marine species unique to New Zealand. Marine protected areas conserve or manage some of these unique habitats and species, while a range of other tools also provide marine protection. We report on the area covered by these tools as an indirect measure to understand the state of the marine environment.
Benthic protection areas (protected seabed areas) are one of the marine protection tools used. They are designated areas in the exclusive economic zone, which extends from the 12 nautical mile seaward limit of the territorial sea to the 200 nautical mile limit. Bethnic protection areas protect seabed habitats through the prohibition of bottom trawling and dredging. There are some areas where seamount closures overlap with benthic protection areas. In these cases the seamount closure restrictions apply.
Note that the thumbnail preview of this spatial data does not reflect the data underlying it. Please see the methodology for a more reflective preview.

New Zealand’s four million km2 marine environment is diverse, with a range of coastal habitats and offshore seabed environments. There are also many marine species unique to New Zealand. Marine protected areas conserve or manage some of these unique habitats and species, while a range of other tools also provide marine protection. We report on the area covered by these tools as an indirect measure to understand the state of the marine environment.
Seamount (underwater mountain area) closures are one of the marine protection tools used. They are designated areas in the exclusive economic zone, which extends to the 200 nautical mile limit. Seamount closures protect underwater mountain areas through the prohibition of all trawling activity. There are some areas where seamount closures overlap with benthic protection areas. In these cases the seamount closure restrictions apply.

The ocean storm index estimates the number of days in a year when wind speeds exceed gale and storm force on the Beaufort Scale. In a gale, sea conditions are rough and waves can be over six metres high. In a storm, waves can be over 10 metres high. To put this into context, on land a near gale would make walking difficult, and a storm would cause some damage to roofs, chimneys, and trees. Climate change could lead to changes in the frequency and intensity of storms. More frequent and intense storms will likely be a stressor for habitats and species.
The ocean storm index estimates the number of days that wind speeds exceed gale and storm force on the Beaufort Scale. The Beaufort Scale is a widely used international classification that rates sea conditions from 0 (calm) to 12 (hurricane). We report on estimated wind speeds broken down to:
- gales – measure 8 on the scale, have rough sea conditions with wind speeds of approximately 62–74 km per hour and wave heights of 5.5 metres
- storms – measure 10 on the scale, have wind speeds of approximately 89–102 km per hour and wave heights of 9–11.5 metres (McDonald & Parsons, 2016).
This data relates to the average number of days wind speed exceeded gale force (Beaufort Scale 8) from 1979–2015.

Extreme wave indexes estimate the occurrence of extreme wave events in coastal and oceanic waters. Extreme wave indexes estimate the number of times a significant wave height exceeds one of three threshold values for at least 12 hours in 24 marine regions. The three wave-height thresholds are four metres, six metres, and eight metres.
This indicator estimates the exceedances of wave-height thresholds for each year from 2008 to 2015 in oceanic regions around New Zealand.
Significant wave height is a measure of the ‘typical’ wave height in a place over a time period. It is four times the standard deviation of the water surface if, for example, you were to measure water moving up and down a jetty piling for an hour. The largest individual wave will typically have a height around twice the significant wave height.
We use three wave-height thresholds because of the regional variation in extreme wave events. In general, the north experiences less exposure to consistently strong winds, and the waves generated by them, than the south. Four-metre tall waves are considered extreme in the northern-most parts of New Zealand but are more common in the south. For the southern-most parts of New Zealand, eight-metre waves better represent extreme wave events.
This dataset relates to the number of extreme wave events exceeding the four metre threshold in oceanic regions.

Extreme wave indexes estimate the occurrence of extreme wave events in coastal and oceanic waters. Extreme wave indexes estimate the number of times a significant wave height exceeds one of three threshold values for at least 12 hours in 24 marine regions. The three wave-height thresholds are four metres, six metres, and eight metres.
This indicator estimates the exceedances of a wave-height threshold for each year from 2008 to 2015 in coastal regions.
Significant wave height is a measure of the ‘typical’ wave height in a place over a time period. It is four times the standard deviation of the water surface if, for example, you were to measure water moving up and down a jetty piling for an hour. The largest individual wave will typically have a height around twice the significant wave height.
We use three wave-height thresholds because of the regional variation in extreme wave events. In general, the north experiences less exposure to consistently strong winds, and the waves generated by them, than the south. Four-metre tall waves are considered extreme in the northern-most parts of New Zealand but are more common in the south. For the southern-most parts of New Zealand, eight-metre waves better represent extreme wave events.
This dataset relates to the number of extreme wave events exceeding the four metre threshold in coastal regions.

Extreme wave indexes estimate the occurrence of extreme wave events in coastal and oceanic waters. Extreme wave indexes estimate the number of times a significant wave height exceeds one of three threshold values for at least 12 hours in 24 marine regions. The three wave-height thresholds are four metres, six metres, and eight metres.
This indicator estimates the exceedances of a wave-height threshold for each year from 2008 to 2015 in coastal regions.
Significant wave height is a measure of the ‘typical’ wave height in a place over a time period. It is four times the standard deviation of the water surface if, for example, you were to measure water moving up and down a jetty piling for an hour. The largest individual wave will typically have a height around twice the significant wave height.
We use three wave-height thresholds because of the regional variation in extreme wave events. In general, the north experiences less exposure to consistently strong winds, and the waves generated by them, than the south. Four-metre tall waves are considered extreme in the northern-most parts of New Zealand but are more common in the south. For the southern-most parts of New Zealand, eight-metre waves better represent extreme wave events.
This dataset relates to the number of extreme wave events exceeding the six metre threshold in coastal regions.